Use this Home-workers routine to sustain the containment in the long run!
You are working from home and it can be nice for now. But the euphoria might fade away quickly… “It’s so weird, I feel I’m less productive than when I’m at the office…”, some are saying.
Check these golden rules used by home-workers and digital nomads to avoid distractions, multi-tasking, loneliness and depression.
How do they hack their mind and recreate usual working shifts?
1. Set clear geographical borders in your house.
The kitchen table becomes your desk,
the living room is only for lunching and breaks,
and your bedroom should stay closed from 8.30am to 8.00pm.
2. Set clear time boundaries in your day.
This freedom is the actual threat! You could slowly drift to working at night and sleep during the day…So, you have to stick to a military schedule, at least for the first week so it becomes natural:
8.30 to 10.30am is WORK, followed by some distractions for 15 minutes (or better call a home worker buddy),
then work again for 2 hours, then lunch and relax.
Same for the afternoon. “What I usually do is that I open the window during my breaks, so I hack my brain to make it feel I have done something outside”, some say.
3. Socialize every day
6.30pm. Make sure you set up visio calls with friends at the end of the day, like you’ve gone for an after-work drink.
4. Exercise every day
8.00am. No pressure. Start with 10 minutes one day, 15 the next and increase as you wish. Take the first video when you type “soft workout” on Youtube. As you are not doing your shift to the office you are lacking this daily walk.
5. Cleaning
Every 2 days at 7.00pm, after working hours, set 30 minutes of house cleaning. Pay more attention to your work environment. Remove every little thing that reminds your personal life and that has invaded your professional life.
Time and Space between Professional and Personal should have borders, that you need to close down fully.
Now that you have your personal routine, you can focus on your work:
1. Don’t get obsessed with productivity (how much you do) but with results (how much is delivered).
That’s it! Having ambitious goals and achieving things will make you happy and exhaust you so you can have a good night sleep!
Yours faithfully,
Michael
My personal extra: try a 20 minutes meditation video on Youtube before going to sleep! It helps to clear your mind's cookies...